Almost no one in Rock’s labor force is looking for work
A typical one-way commute lasts 24 minutes, next to 22 for Wisconsin and 26 for the U.S. The two grades for Rock are B for jobs and income and C for walkability. Only 1% work in Rock itself; outside it, Janesville draws the most (42%, 5 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Rock: the figures worth knowing
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Rock
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Rock is better than 57% of U.S. towns, #267 of 362 in Wisconsin. Unemployment holds Rock’s grade up (hardly any, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (21.8%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Rock could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
The towns that employ Rock’s residents
Where Rock clocks in
42% of workers
9% of workers
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
The daily flow of workers through Rock
On a workday 1,392 residents head out to work, 16 work right here, and 910 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,500 people are in Rock on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.66 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Rock
926 jobs are based in Rock.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rock, 2013 → 2023: 838 → 926. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Rock’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Rock: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rock workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,278 commuters (the 17% who work from home are left out). Across Wisconsin: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Rock’s commute, mile by mile
About 15% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Most of Rock commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Rock is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns, #250 of 362 in Wisconsin. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 4.8% across Wisconsin.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,548 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 56% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 39% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 71% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.5% of Rock households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Rock’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 2,100 to 4,000, Rock ranks 1,838th of 4,618 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | Ottawa WI | 3,642 | $153K | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 43 | North Prairie WI | 2,193 | $153K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 52 | Jackson WI | 3,950 | $117K | 0.6% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,836 | Goshen Township OH | 3,647 | $74K | 11.0% | 3.4% | 9% | B |
| 1,837 | Stanley WI | 2,492 | $68K | 8.4% | 0.9% | 1% | B |
| 1,838 | Rock WI | 2,988 | $71K | 21.8% | 0.0% | 1% | B |
| 1,839 | Cherry Valley IL | 2,887 | $75K | 8.3% | 5.4% | 3% | B |
| 1,840 | Ossian IN | 3,448 | $72K | 6.7% | 4.8% | 9% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,618 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Rock, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
The towns next door employ 43% of Rock
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rock workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rock | – | B | C | 24 min | $71,065 |
| Janesville | 42% | B | A− | 22 min | $73,446 |
| Beloit | 1% | A− | B− | 23 min | $79,662 |
| Plymouth | under 1% | B | D | 27 min | $85,598 |
| Janesville | under 1% | A+ | C | 27 min | $102,660 |
| La Prairie | under 1% | — | — | 23 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. La Prairie: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Janesville. Darker towns draw more of Rock’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Rock: questions
What is the median household income in Rock?
$71,065 (±$20,777) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rock?
21.8%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rock?
24 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rock work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Janesville (42%, 5 mi), Madison (9%, 36 mi), Beloit (7%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Rock walkable?
Rock is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rock without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 39% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rock, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rock
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.